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Wedding photographer & videographer in Yosemite

Sunrise in Yosemite Valley on April 15 is 06:231, and the Park Service recommends ceremonies before 10 am2, so early light and the permit advice agree. One team shoots photo and video, and travel to Yosemite is in the quote.

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Last updated

Wedding couple portrait
Wedding detail
The couple seen from behind in a tall frame
Coverage
Photo · Video · Photo + Video
Collections
Half day · Full day · Two days
Travel
In the quote
Booking
Direct with your photographer

In short

We photograph and film weddings and elopements in Yosemite National Park, with one team and travel in the quote. Every ceremony in the park needs a Park Service special use permit, and drones are not allowed, so we plan sites, timing and sound around the permit.

In pictures

How we shoot Yosemite

The couple walking together
The couple at dusk
Wedding detail

In Yosemite we cover elopements and small ceremonies at the sites the park allows, and we plan anything larger around its group limits.

Collections

Every collection comes as photo, video, or both, with the same team on the day. Half day covers an elopement or a small ceremony and portraits; Full day runs from getting ready to the first hour of the reception; Two days adds a rehearsal dinner, a welcome evening or a next-morning session. Travel to Yosemite is built into the quote, not added later.

Prices depend on the date, the team and how far we travel, so we send a price list for Yosemite rather than publishing one number for every town. Ask for it below; it arrives within one business day.

Coverage
I

Half day

4 h · Photo + Video

Covers an elopement or a small ceremony and portraits.

  • Edited gallery
  • Print rights
  • Sneak peek within days
  • Feature film
  • Teaser
  • Full ceremony audio
  • One crew
II

Full day

8 h · Photo + Video

Runs from getting ready to the first hour of the reception.

  • Edited gallery
  • Print rights
  • Sneak peek within days
  • Feature film
  • Teaser
  • Full ceremony audio
  • One crew
III

Two days

12 h · Photo + Video

Adds a rehearsal dinner, a welcome evening or a next-morning session.

  • Edited gallery
  • Print rights
  • Sneak peek within days
  • Feature film
  • Teaser
  • Full ceremony audio
  • One crew
Get the Yosemite price list

The day

The day,as we shoot it in Yosemite

Wedding detail

A spring day in the Valley starts with water. Valley ceremony sites sit beside rivers or waterfalls that usually run high from about March through June, which can make speech hard to hear2; we record the ceremony on the officiant for that reason. This sample is built on April 15, with sunrise at 06:23 and sunset at 19:341.

  1. Couple portraits at Tunnel View in first light.
  2. The ceremony at Bridalveil Fall, ahead of the 10 am mark the Park Service recommends2.
  3. Family portraits near the Lower Yosemite Fall trail.
  4. A long break; the park limits an event to two hours3, so the permitted part of the day is over.
  5. A second short session in the Valley as the sun drops towards 19:341.

Dress for the season rather than the calendar. At Yosemite Park Headquarters, April averages a 63.1 °F high, a 37.6 °F low and 3.17 in of precipitation4. January is the wettest month we list, at 6.98 in with a 47.5 °F high4. July is dry, with 0.29 in and an 89.2 °F average high4. Smoke is most common in August and September, and large floods, though uncommon, happen mostly in winter3. We keep a second site on the plan for every date.

Sunrise and sunset
MonthSunriseSunset
Jan07:1217:03
Apr06:2319:34
Jul05:4820:19
Oct07:0618:21

Sunrise and sunset computed for the 15th of each month, local time.1

Wide frame with the couple small in the landscape

Where we shoot in Yosemite

Yosemite sets the ceremony site, so the list below follows the Park Service's approved locations and adds the viewpoints we use for portraits. Site use is first come, first served and limited to two hours2.

  • Tunnel View the viewpoint on State Route 41, open since 1933, looking across Yosemite Valley5.
  • Bridalveil Fall 617 ft high and flowing year-round6. The ceremony clearing lies beyond the second stone bridge on the paved path, for up to 50 people2.
  • Lower Yosemite Fall the base of Yosemite Falls, the park's highest waterfall at 2,425 ft, with flow that peaks in late spring7. The permitted spot is a signed area with two wooden benches, not the creek bridge or the base itself2.
  • Swinging Bridge Picnic Area a beach north-east of the bridge, approved for up to 20 people; no ceremonies on the bridge or in the meadows2.
  • Glacier Point a viewpoint on the Valley's south wall at 7,214 ft, 3,200 ft above Curry Village8, facing Half Dome, Yosemite Falls, Vernal and Nevada falls and Clouds Rest.
  • Tenaya Lake a glacial alpine lake with its surface at 8,150 ft, reached by State Route 1209.
  • Tuolumne Meadows a dome-studded sub-alpine meadow along the Tuolumne River at about 8,619 ft10; weddings are not permitted within the meadows themselves2.
The two of them close together

How we match you with your photographer

Troth Weddings is a network of independent wedding photographers and videographers, built location by location. When you inquire about Yosemite, we introduce you to the partner photographer matched to it. We share their recent galleries and films and set up a call. You book directly with them; we stay in the loop until your gallery is delivered.

Partners join by invitation. Before we list anyone we review full weddings, not highlight reels, and how they handle contracts, backups and delivery.

How booking works

  1. Send the form with your date and location.
  2. We reply within one business day with the Yosemite price list and the partner's recent work.
  3. Call with the photographer; if it fits, a deposit holds the date.
  4. A short questionnaire about people, places and timing, two weeks before.
  5. The day.
  6. A sneak peek first, then the full gallery and the film on the dates set in your contract.

Good to know in Yosemite

The Park Service requires a special use permit for any wedding or commitment ceremony in the park, with a $150 non-refundable application fee3. Applications go in by mail, up to one year ahead and more than 21 days before the date3. Events last up to two hours, none are scheduled on holidays or holiday weekends, and drones are not allowed3. Entrance fees are not waived.

The marriage license comes from a county clerk. Mariposa County sells a public license for $60 or a confidential one for $65, in cash11. Licenses are valid for 90 days, appointments are required, and both of you attend together11. A public license needs one or two witnesses to sign; a confidential one needs none12.

The Valley floor sits at 4,000 ft13. Tioga and Glacier Point roads are normally closed by snow from sometime in November until late May or June3, which removes the high-country sites from winter and spring plans.

Wedding detail

Marriage license

Issued by
Mariposa County Clerk, Hall of Records, 10th and Bullion Streets, Mariposa (a California public license can be bought in any county and used anywhere in California)
Fee
$60 public license / $65 confidential license (cash)11
Valid for
90 days11
Witnesses
public license: at least 1, no more than 2 sign; confidential license: none12

The place

Elevation (Yosemite Valley floor)
4,000 ft (1,219 m)13
Weather by month, Yosemite Park Headquarters
MonthAvg highAvg lowPrecip.
Jan447.5 °F28.5 °F6.98 in
Apr463.1 °F37.6 °F3.17 in
Jul489.2 °F57.4 °F0.29 in
Oct470.9 °F41.3 °F1.56 in

Questions couples ask

01How far in advance should we book a wedding photographer in Yosemite?

Start with the permit calendar. The Park Service takes applications up to one year ahead and requires them more than 21 days before the ceremony3, and ceremony sites are first come, first served once the permit is issued. Book the team when the date is firm, because the permit and the photographer both depend on it.

02Can we book photo and video together in Yosemite?

Yes, with one crew. Two park rules shape the film: drones are not allowed, and amplified music or a PA system is not permitted3. The film is therefore shot from the ground, and the ceremony audio is recorded on the officiant rather than through speakers.

03What happens if it rains on our wedding day in Yosemite?

January is the wettest month we list, at 6.98 in at Yosemite Park Headquarters, and April averages 3.17 in4. We agree a second site beforehand and shorten the portrait walk. In spring, waterfall noise can also drown speech2, so a wet date and a loud date are planned the same way.

04Do you travel to Yosemite, and is travel included?

Yes. Travel is built into the quote. Park entrance fees still apply3, and from sometime in November until late May or June Tioga and Glacier Point roads are normally closed by snow3, so we confirm road status with you before a high-country date is set.

05Can we get the raw files?

Whether a partner releases unedited files is set in their contract, so ask on the call. What every photo collection includes is an edited gallery with print rights and a sneak peek within days. Yosemite's two-hour event limit3 keeps the permitted window tight, so the plan for portraits is settled before the day.

Say when.

Tell us the date, the Yosemite site you have in mind and how many people are coming. We reply within one business day with the Yosemite price list and a partner's recent work.

We reply within one business day with the price list for your place. Privacy policy · Terms

Sources

  1. Computed with suncalc (NOAA algorithm) for the 15th of the month at 37.7456, -119.5936, America/Los_Angeles local time github.com/mourner/suncalc
  2. National Park Service, Yosemite — Ceremony Locations nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/wedloc.htm
  3. National Park Service, Yosemite — Weddings & Commitment Ceremonies (permit, fee, restrictions, unexpected events) nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/weddings.htm
  4. Wikipedia, "Yosemite National Park" — weather box, Yosemite Park Headquarters (Yosemite Valley), NOAA 1991–2020 normals en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yosemite_National_Park
  5. Wikipedia, "Tunnel View" en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunnel_View
  6. Wikipedia, "Bridalveil Fall" en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridalveil_Fall
  7. Wikipedia, "Yosemite Falls" en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yosemite_Falls
  8. Wikipedia, "Glacier Point" en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glacier_Point
  9. Wikipedia, "Tenaya Lake" en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenaya_Lake
  10. Wikipedia, "Tuolumne Meadows" en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuolumne_Meadows
  11. Mariposa County — Marriage Licenses and Civil Ceremonies (fees, appointments, ID, validity, return) mariposacounty.gov/253/Marriage-Licenses-and-Civil-Ceremonies
  12. California Department of Public Health — Types of Marriage Licenses (public vs confidential, witnesses) cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CHSI/Pages/Types-of-Marriage-Licenses-.aspx
  13. Wikipedia, "Yosemite Valley" — infobox elevation 4,000 ft en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yosemite_Valley